Sunday, May 1, 2016

Last fall several high-profile college
campuses descended into turmoil. Fighting for what they thought was racial justice, Red Guards and
Brown Shirts did their best to prevent anyone from learning anything. They protested against microaggressions, demanded diversity training for everyone and to have their universities join the
struggle against white privilege. Political correctness was being imposed on students, by force.

Minority students were struggling to keep up with their course
work. Many were obviously mismatched. Thus, they needed to find someone to blame and they lit upon white
people, students, faculty and administration.

The larger picture, as I pointed out at the time, was simply
that the Obama presidency, the most diverse presidency in American history, was
clearly a failure. Now the task was to find someone to blame.

On several campuses administrators rushed out to make concessions to the rebellious and righteous students. They fell over themselves to accommodate the absurd
demands. Faculty members mostly remained silent. They understood that standing
up to the mob might well cost them their jobs.

It look as though no one was left to stand athwart history, as William Buckley
wrote, to say: Stop!

As many of us noted at the time the only real and effective
counterforce to this madness had to be: alumni. If there is no cost for such administrative cowardice, the demonstrators will simply get what they are demanding. As long as alumni fund these places and as
long as they want their children to matriculate, the domestic terrorists will
have won. I do not use the term lightly: leftist student activists are not
interested in debate and deliberation. They want to get their way and if they
do not get their way they will threaten and intimidate, even make education
impossible.

As of now, there has been very little alumni and
parental blowback. Too much of the country has learned that it is best not to
utter the least discouraging word about what is going on in America’s
universities and what is happening to America’s children.

Except for the University of Missouri. You recall the damage
done to that university last Fall by out-of-control demonstrators. You recall
that they forced the resignation of the president and chancellor of the
university and that they turned an institution of higher learning into an
indoctrination center. You recall that the football team declared that it would
go on strike. You also recall now-former professor Melissa Click calling for
more “muscle.”

You are less aware of the backlash, from parents and
alumni. It is less dramatic and has not been reported very widely at all. Now, Jillian Kay Melchior has
collected the evidence and I am happy to pass it on. We are heartened by the
large number of people who stood up to the politically correct bullies. We are
heartened to see that Melissa Click was fired, that freshman enrollment has plummeted,
as have alumni contributions.

Melchior writes:

The
7,400 pages of emails, reviewed exclusively by these two publications,
reveal how Mizzou overwhelmingly lost the support of longtime sports fans,
donors, and alumni. Parents and grandparents wrote in from around the country
declaring that their family members wouldn’t be attending Mizzou after the
highly publicized controversy. Some current students talked about leaving.

This
passionate backlash doesn’t appear to have been a bluff. Already, freshman
enrollment is
down 25%, leaving a $32 million funding gap and forcing the closure of
four dorms. The month after the protests, donations to the athletic department
were a mere $191,000—down 72% over the same period a year earlier. Overall
fundraising also took a big
hit.

We get the best sense of the parent and alumni backlash by
examining some of the emails received by the administration.

Melchior quotes them at considerable length. For the record,
Mr. Butler was a student who went on a hunger strike to insist that his demands
be fulfilled. The football team went on strike in support of Mr. Butler:

Nov. 9: A parent writes: “It is only a matter of
time before the remainder of Mr. Butler’s demands are implemented with the
mob’s threats not so subtly in the background, demands that range from
totalitarian to insane. … I have two sons at Mizzou. I will be immediately
searching for alternatives for both. I do not trust the education they might
receive at such a school.”

Nov. 9: A donor writes “to finalize my 40 year
history with the Athletic Department of the University of Missouri.” He adds:
“For the last 10 years, I have attended between 60-85 athletic events per year…
always bought a ticket, program (if available), two hot dogs and a small diet
coke. … Now, I have a hole in my heart that you could can drive a truck
through. … I pledge from this day forward NOT TO contribute to the [Tiger
Scholarship Fund], buy any tickets to a University of Missouri athletic event,
to attend any athletic event (even if free), to give away all my MU clothes
(nearly my entire wardrobe) after I have removed any logos associated with the
University of Missouri, and any cards/helmets/ice buckets/flags with the
University of Missouri Logo on it.”

It was not merely alumni and parents:

Nov.
10: A
senior internal recruiter for TEKsystems, an information-technology company
that hires hundreds of new college graduates a year, writes to the director for
student-athlete development: “With everything that is going on at the school, I
regret to inform you that we are unable to attend the career fair today.”

Other alumni also wrote to say that they will cease
contributing to the university:

Nov.
10: A 2015
graduate of the UM law school writes: “I am ashamed to say that I graduated
from the University of Missouri. I will be revoking the pledge I made upon
graduation, and I will not be making any future monetary donations. I know I am
not the only alum who feels this way.”

One parent was seriously upset by the racialism that had
infected the campus:

Nov.
11: A
parent paying full tuition for his sophomore son writes: “Free speech is under
assault on campus by immature, spoiled, thin skinned punks. … I am seriously
considering removing my son after this semester. I will never allow him to take
politically correct ‘racial sensitivity training’ if required.”

Others were severely offended at having a guilt trip laid on
them:

Nov.
11: An MU
fan writes asking for a refund for his ticket purchase: “Two good men lost
their jobs, extremists are running around the campus, and now I have a label of
white privilege. Nothing screams white privilege like sitting in donor seats
and parking in donor lots.”

And the backlash continued:

Nov.
13: Member
of the Missouri 100, an advisory group supporting Mizzou, writes: “From the
alumni I talk to there appears to be a backlash building that is not good for
future support of the university. One classmate told me that he changed his
trust yesterday to delete a gift to MU, others just do not understand the
football players ‘striking.’ A couple have said it was time to take a play form
the Ronald Reagan playbook on how the air traffic controllers were handled.”

The
vice chancellor for advancement responds: “We have a lot of these messages of
pulling support.”

Nov.
16: Grandmother
writes that she will “pull every dime” from her granddaughter’s tuition trust
“before I allow her to set foot on your campus.” She continues: “What is
occurring there is a national and academic disgrace and embarrassment!
Absolutely disgusting!”

If one is a graduate from one of these universities it is difficult to watch the degradation of a degree or degrees one worked hard to attain. One has to know that the minute a job interviewer notes that one graduated from these indoctrination centers one's scholarship is in question. This is not to consider one's ability to face the challenges of a harsh and unforgiving world.The market place, and probably social media as well, will ultimately punish those who forget the purpose of matriculating.

I am not sure whether this, and every form of guilt shaming, does not ultimately redound to Trump. I believe that there is a very large segment of the population that is fed up with the race, sex, et al, card being used. I suspect that many have begun to wonder when and where does all of this end. We are damned if we do and damned if we don't. Most of us were not alive when much of this happened and though unhappy that history is replete with actions we may find something our nation should not be proud, but find that we can only be responsible for the actions we take and history is not going to be altered by feeling guilt. The expiration date has passed.When Hillary, and the democrats, pander to these people she, and they, are alienating the electorate and driving them to Trump. I suspect as we get closer that is why some polls are beginning to show Trump beating Hillary. Call me a cynic, but I sure would not be unhappy if the race, sex, et al hustlers keep playing the victim card. Nothing affects most Americans like seeing people destroying taxpayer owned vehicles while waving the Mexican flag. Soros may in the long run be electing Trump.